The Last Swim

The Mavericks Brynn & David exhibit

‘The Last Swim’

Union Gallery – Queen’s University

February 15- March 19, 2013
Reception: March 9, 6-8 pm
Artist Talk: March 6, 2:30 pm

About The Last Swim: 

The Last Swim considers individual experience in relation to notions of holistic or universal truth and is informed by personal experience and observations of the politics of youth. For the exhibition, the artists have produced collaborative and individual paintings, drawings, sculptures and collages using materials from analog photographs, internet sources, vintage magazines and internal visual space. The exploratory nature of self and its external constraints, which arise through socialization and classification, are the tenants of questioning within the works on display. Further exploration of psychological texts, the writings of Joseph Campbell and consideration of confessional artists such as Tracey Emin provide information and context within which the work lives.

Artist Statements

David Woodward

Arising from a constant state of subconscious analysis, my work is a response to psychological and emotional stimuli and challenge. Working towards some idea of higher understanding, I attempt to reconcile and rehabilitate notions of self with the interruptions of interpersonal, societal and cultural bonds. Experiences of emotional height, moments of the mundane and the symbolic lens through which I see the world inspire the content of my work. I work individually and collaboratively across a broad selection of media, based on the idea or concept developing.

I aim to explore the discourse between seemingly fundamental and learned human behaviours, and the questionable acceptance of “what is” as intrinsic. Furthermore, I am interested in using a visual language to unravel the restraints with which we tie ourselves – our longing for acceptance and love, burdened by an appetite for shame. Visually, I aim to mirror the dichotomy of acceptance and judgement – authenticity and performance, through imagery which falls somewhere between the beautiful and the disquieting.

Brynn Higgins-Stirrup

My work is currently moving towards an increasingly multidisciplinary practice. Through the use of methods such as painting, drawing, sculpture, collage and collaboration I aim to investigate the art-object as a fixed point of knowledge which discusses the relationship between personal and universal  notions of truth.

These modes of understanding are considered specifically in the interaction of the self with notions of cultural intelligence and morality. My work discusses cultural relativism and the fallacy of progress. I speak specifically at notions of shame of sexuality, gender and the body. I hope to discuss the self in relation to the social constructions of institutions such as Christianity and Capitalism. My work aims to function as a recontextualization of the image and a space in which the viewer can experience a dialogue with self.